Regime change: Michael Gove has confirmed that a controversial courts charge of up to £1,200 levied on criminals is to be scrapped within weeks

A £1,200 'justice tax' will be scrapped after just nine months, Michael Gove revealed today.

The fee, which costs criminals a minimum of £150, will no longer apply from December 24, the Justice Secretary said.

More than 50 magistrates are understood to have resigned in protest over the charge.

One woman stole four Mars bars worth 75p after her benefits were stopped and was ordered to pay a £150 criminal courts charge on top of her £73 fine, £85 costs, a £20 victim surcharge and 75p compensation.

A 26-year-old homeless man was ordered to pay £150 criminal courts charge and a £15 victim surcharge after stealing a can of Red Bull.

There is also evidence the controversial charges encouraged people to plead guilty because of the punitive costs of challenging a case in court.

The criminal courts charge was introduced by Mr Gove's predecessor Chris Grayling during the coalition government to help towards the running of the courts system.

The scrapping of the levy just seven months after it was introduced follows an avalanche of opposition from magistrates, lawyers and campaign groups.

Last month MPs called for the charges to be immediately dropped after voicing 'grave misgivings'.

Anecdotal evidence also suggested defendants who had intended to plead not guilty changed their plea in order to pay the minimum £150 charge, rather than the £1,000 they could face in a magistrates' court or £1,200 in a Crown Court if the case goes to trial.

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Malcolm Richardson, national chairman of the Magistrates Association, said it was 'fantastic news'.

He added: 'We're very grateful to Mr Gove for listening to the case made by magistrates about the charge.

'In all my years on the bench, I've never seen something strike so hard at the heart of justice.

'Although we have lost many experienced magistrates, there will be an enormous sense of relief across the criminal justice system.'

Cases: There was anger recently after penniless 26-year-old homeless man was prosecuted and ordered to pay £150 criminal courts charge after stealing a can of Red Bull

Shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter described the announcement as a 'big win' for those who argued against the 'daft policy'.

It is the latest in a series of policy reversals overseen by Mr Gove since his appointment to the brief following the election.

Plans to outsource the collection of fines and proposals for secure colleges have been scrapped, while a controversial £5.9 million bid to run prison training services in Saudi Arabia was ended.

The former education secretary has also set out radical plans to overhaul prisons and courts.

Lord Falconer, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, said: 'Michael Gove should be devoting his time to tackling the violence, drug abuse, and overcrowding which is rampant in our prison system, rather than having to run around cleaning up the mistakes of Chris Grayling.'

ANGRY MAGISTRATE TRIED TO PAY ASYLUM SEEKER'S PUNITIVE COURT FEE

A senior magistrate tried to pay a penniless asylum seeker’s court fine and later resigned over the Government's policy.

Nigel Allcoat, of Burbage, Leicestershire, offered money toward the £180 in penalties the man in his 20s was being ordered to pay.

But when the judiciary found out about his good deed, the 65-year-old musician was suspended and investigated.

The respected JP responded by quitting in disgust at the way both he and the refugee have been treated by the law.

Since April dozens of magistrates across the country have resigned in protest at the charges which came into effect in April.

Mr Allcoat found himself in trouble after dealing with the case of the asylum seeker at Leicester Magistrates’ Court who had no means of paying the growing fines.

He said of the ’utterly appalling’ incident: ‘It concerned an asylum seeker in his 20s who was ordered in June to pay this charge of £180.’

He added: ‘When he first appeared in court in June before another bench, a friend who runs a Leicester food stall, who occasionally fed him, paid a £60 victim surcharge on behalf of the asylum seeker.

‘This was a generous and human act and should be applauded. However, before me as a fine defaulter, he was going to be further criminalized for non-payment of the court charge.

‘If he was found with, or earned money, he would also break the law and thus jeopardise his status as an asylum seeker. I was appalled that he should be in such a Catch 22 situation, as whichever way he went he would break the law.’

Mr Allcoat said he had been unable to speak out until now while he waited for the issue to be resolved.